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Rachel put her hand on Elisa’s arm and gave it a little squeeze before turning her attention to the guy in front of them. “About that agreement?”
The guy started humming. He looked at the screen and punched a few more keys. Then he headed for the file cabinet and searched through the folders in there. Finally, he returned to his seat behind the window. “It’s not here. Probably isn’t in the system yet.”
He didn’t seem surprised and, strangely enough, neither was Elisa. She should have guessed it wouldn’t be that easy to ferret this out. “Of course not.”
“How did the person pay for the rental?” Rachel asked.
He snorted and pointed toward Elisa. “Ask her yourself.”
Before Elisa could shout about how none of this had anything to do with her, Rachel responded. “Humor me.”
The guy went back to his computer, but not before treating them to an eye roll. “Six months. Paid in advance.” He glanced at Elisa. “You’ll get a notice about renewal.”
Nothing made a lot of sense to Elisa at the moment. “What’s the address of the person who rented this?”
“Ma’am, where do you live? I mean, come on.”
She really wanted to shoo the guy out of the tiny, locked room and take over the search. She tried to hold on to her fake smile, a last bit of control, instead. “Is it in the file?”
The guy just frowned at them. “I don’t understand what’s wrong.”
“Please look,” Rachel said in a voice that didn’t sound like it was a request.
Maybe it was all the prodding but he capitulated and readalong until he found the information. “Right here. Old Gulph Road in Villanova.”
Her address. The dizziness hit Elisa a second after the realization.
Rachel looked at her. “Yes?”
Elisa nodded. “Yes.”
The guy slapped a flyer down on the counter. “If you want to move your things there’s a location closer to you.”
“It’s not my unit.” Elisa rubbed her forehead. She could feel the fog descending. A subtlewhat ifpanic shook through her.
No. She did not rent the unit. Josh did. He told her he did. Her mind wasn’t flipping that around. It actually happened.
“Ah, okay.” Rachel put a hand on Elisa’s lower back. “Any chance we could look at the security tapes?”
“The machine tapes over the video every five days,” he said.
Of course it did, but Elisa would make it work. “Okay, can I see the available days?”
The guy snorted again. This time a lot louder. “Of course not.”
The phone rang and he turned away. Elisa knew that was the end of the discussion and didn’t even try to get more information.
They walked away but Rachel waited until they were some distance from the counter to talk again. “What’s going on?”
If a reasonable explanation existed, it eluded Elisa. No Abby. No items. Someone named Concerned out there walking around with information she needed. “I have no idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Elisa dropped off Rachel at her car by the café and then drove home. Her hands flexed on the wheel and her mind blurred with stray thoughts. The desperate need to put together all the random pieces she’d discovered into a clear, shining puzzle nearly overwhelmed her.
By the time she pulled into the driveway she was exhausted and dizzy, craving sleep and quiet. She feared this was the new normal. For months now the air had carried this strange sort of heaviness. It pushed her down and held her there. Made every step labored and every breath a dying gasp.
She used to think that when the darkness came all she had to do was put on a serene front and not react outwardly while she shrank on the inside. She’d convinced herself those short moments of pain and confusion were fleeting and unusual. That she could survive if she stopped being so weak. If she wanted it enough, was strong enough, worked hard enough, and persevered through it.
